Katherine Lester

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Katherine R. Lester (born June 21, 1989), is an American from Gilford, Michigan who took an unauthorized trip to the Middle East in June, 2006, to meet Abdullah Jinzawi, a resident of Jericho who she met on MySpace.com (where he claimed to be 25, though he was actually 20).

Lester misled her parents by saying she was taking a trip to Canada with some friends, so that she could obtain a passport. Her parents were not aware of her actual intentions. ^[1] A runaway juvenile petition was filed against her, and she was ordered to forfeit her passport and go into therapy. Upon returning to Michigan, Lester resumed communication with Jinzawi, and appeared on ABC's Good Morning America with her parents which also included a video conference of Jimzawi overseas. In the segment, the two expressed mutual unconditional love for each other and Lester said she planned to marry him, but did not wish to answer a question on whether she would convert to Islam. ^{[2] [3]}

She had spent several months talking to Jinzawi, in the West Bank, but was stopped in Amman, Jordan for questioning while en route to meet him. Jinzawi's family says that Lester and Jinzawi had planned to marry, and that they did not know Lester was acting without her parents' consent.^[4] Lester was to be met at the airport by Jinzawi's mother. According to Sharia law, a marriage is not valid without the bride's parental consent, and it is very common for the bride's family to provide financial support for the groom's family. Jinzawi's family also says that they know of 5 other Palestinian men who were brought out of the West Bank refugee camp by marrying American girls they met on online dating sites. ^[5]

Lester is currently a senior at Akron-Fairgrove High School, and will graduate in the class of 2007. She is not permitted to travel anywhere outside of the state of Michigan until she is 18.^[6]

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